Warning! This article contains SPOILERS forThe Acolyteseason 1, episodes 1 & 2.
Summary
The characters ofThe Acolyteare as different as they come, right down to their various costumes, and those outfits reveal quite a bit about them.The Acolytetakes place in theHigh Republic era, and that setting gives the show quite a bit of creative freedom. Since it’s so far removed from the rest of theStar Warsmovies and TV shows,The Acolytehad a chance to experiment with its planets, technology, and characters. It also got the chance to be creative with its costumes, and the newStar Warsshow took full advantage of that opportunity.
Jennifer Bryan, the costume designer forThe Acolyte, recently spoke withStar Warsabout some of the central characters in the show, and what she wanted to convey in their clothing. She went into interestingly detailed depth about everything from the fabrics she used and the stitching she chose to the way she found inspiration for each costume. Bryan’s remarks give some valuable insight into the art of costume design, but they also reveal quite a bit aboutThe Acolyte’s cast of characters. The choices she made in presenting each of those characters shows something important about them andThe Acolyteitself.
9Mae’s Clothes Show She Has Been On The Run For A Long Time
Mae’s Mysterious Backstory Could Be Full Of Danger
Amandla Stenberg’s mysterious Mae has been one of the most prominent characters inThe Acolytesince long before it premiered. As the face of the show, her costume has similarly been a focal point.Mae’s clothes say a lot of things about her, but one point Bryan focused on specifically was the patchwork nature of it all. Her armor is a mix of chain mail, pewter metal, and bamboo strips, while her cloak has several different types of fabric with holes throughout. Bryan said she wanted to convey that Mae had been “on the run,” through those choices, which is an interesting detail about her character.
Mae
The former Padawan of Jedi Master Sol, Mae gets swept up into a sinister mystery—one that puts her into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways.
Mae’s tragic backstory has already been hinted at inThe Acolyte, as the first two episodes of the show revealed that a fire killed Mae and Osha’s family 16 years prior. However, if Mae was truly on the run all that time, it begs the question of who she was running from. It’s possible that Mae ran fromThe Acolyte’s mysterious Sith Lord, and that they’re not as much of an ally to Mae as they currently seem. It’s also possible that the Jedi actively hunted Mae down at some point, fueling her desire for revenge.
8Mae’s Cloak Showcases How She Mirrors The Jedi Order
The Jedi Are Precise Protectors; Mae Is A Scrappy Survivor
Another important part of Mae’s outfit is the fact that it was created to contrast the Jedi. TheJedi often wore ceremonial white robes inThe Acolyte, and those robes were often made to look pristine. Mae’s cloak, on the other hand, is a patchwork of things she’s picked up along her journey, with little consideration for how they looked. Bryan also said that Mae’s purple cloak is supposed to be representative of the memories she carried with her. By contrast, the Jedi’s white robes seem to symbolize a blank sheet, and that they don’t concern themselves with the past at all.
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Mae doesn’t just oppose the Jedi physically, she does so on an ideological level.
On a surface level, Mae’s differences from the Jedi are clear, as she’s trying to kill them, but the contrasts run even deeper. Mae’s revenge quest is entirely fueled by the past. She wants to get justice for the wrongs done to her and her family, and she wants to expose the role the Jedi had in it 16 years after the fact.The Jedi, on the other hand, have overtly stated they want nothing to do with the past, as Jecki chastised Sol for still having feelings for his former Padawan. Mae doesn’t just oppose the Jedi physically, she does so on an ideological level.
7Mae’s Outfit In The Acolyte Shows How Much Of A Warrior She Is
Mae Is Always Ready For A Fight, & Her Wardrobe Shows It
To oppose the Jedi ideologically, though, Mae still has to defeat them physically. Bryan understood that, and to convey it in Mae’s costume, she looked to real-world history for inspiration. To show that Mae was a warrior, Bryan drew from the Byzantine and Roman Empires, the samurai, and warriors from Asia minor, East Africa, and Northern Africa. Those cultures informed several parts of Mae’s gear, from the throwing knives she wielded and the belt and boots she hid them in to the chest plate and chain mail protecting her. Every part of her design is supposed to show that she was ready to kill at a moment’s notice.
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When combined with Bryan’s earlier comments about Mae having been on the run for so much of her life, her commitment to being a warrior is painted in a very tragic light.Ever since the night her family died on Brendok, Mae’s life has been a struggle to survive. She likely gained many of her combat skills simply to keep herself alive, which makes her anger at the Jedi much more understandable. Mae’s costume also adds to that tragedy by showing how her anger has seeped into every part of her, even in the way she presents herself to the galaxy.
6Master Indara’s Costume Connects Her To Star Wars’ History
Indara’s Outfit Is Inspired By The Prequel Trilogy & Princess Leia
Master Indara is the first Jedi shown inThe Acolyte, and Bryan said she wanted to make it immediately clear by sight alone that she was a Jedi. Because of that, Indara shares quite a few similarities with the costumes Jedi wore in the prequel trilogy. She had a dark brown cloak and her tunic underneath omitted the gold coloring typical of the High Republic. The prequels weren’t the only part ofStar Wars' history that Bryan drew from, though, as she also mentioned that Indara’s white clothes beneath her cloak were the same ivory color as Leia Organa’s gown in the originalStar Wars.
Indara
Master Indara is a Jedi Master of great physical and mental skill. Little has been revealed of her role to date.
It’s interesting that Indara was chosen to convey so much ofStar Wars' history, especially considering how she was quickly killed inThe Acolyte’s first episode. This was likely a very intentional choice: setting up Indara as the strongest link to theStar Warsstories that came before and immediately killing her establishes in bold fashion thatThe Acolyteis not like anything that came before. Indara’s outfit, coupled with her fate, told viewers right away that whatever they were expecting the show to be is not what it will end up being.
5Master Sol & His Robes Embody The High Republic
Sol Seems To Be The Acolyte’s Example Of A Good Jedi
The Acolytetakes place in the High Republic, a time period that is vastly different from the parts of theStar Warstimeline seen in live-action so far. To illustrate just how different it is, Bryan chose Master Sol to convey it visually. He wears white and gold robes in his first scenes inThe Acolyte, which are starkly different from the brown and tan robes of the prequel era. They’re exactly the type of robes a Jedi from the High Republic would wear, which says quite a bit about Sol himself.
Sol
Master Sol is a wise, highly respected, powerful Jedi Master, strong in the ways of the Force, who is going through emotional conflict.
The Jedi of the High Republic were supposed to be in their prime, and examples of everything that the Order stood for. They were peacekeepers, innovators, diplomats, and protectors.Sol’s robes, being the first white and gold clothes seen inThe Acolyte, hint that those ideals are a core part of his character. Bryan likely chose Sol to establish the High Republic setting because he is the quintessential High Republic Jedi: a servant of the light side of the Force. Sol may be a great Jedi, but that doesn’t mean he was perfect, andThe Acolytehas already hinted that he had a dark past.
4Sol’s Costume Hints At His Many Layers
Sol Could Be One Of The Acolyte’s Most Complex Characters
On the surface, Sol seems like an almost perfect Jedi. He’s emotional, but not ruled by his mood, he’s open-minded and willing to listen when others have already decided, and he knows that there’s a time to act and a time to deliberate. His costume, however, suggests there’s more to him beneath the surface. Bryan spoke about how she layered the different parts of his tunic by using different textures, weaves, and materials. That was supposed to convey a sense of history to Sol, that he and his clothes had withstood the test of time.
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Those layers definitely convey a long career as a Jedi, but they also beg the question of what happened in those years. A large part ofThe Acolyte’s mystery is the events that happened 16 years prior on Brendok, when Sol recruited Mae into the Order.The show has hinted that Sol and the other Jedi stationed there did something heinous, and the layers of his clothes indicate that he could be hiding some guilt underneath his pristine appearance.
3Jecki Lon’s Costume Highlights Her Youth
Jecki Is Seen As A Child, Despite Her Maturity
Two major parts of Jecki Lon’s costume, aside from her Theelin markings, are her Padawan braid and the green sash she wears beneath her belt. Both of these details are meant to convey that Jecki is young, and basically still a child. In the first two episodes ofThe Acolyte, Jecki has already proven herself to be a very capable Jedi. She figured out that Osha’s twin was likely responsible for Indara’s murder before anyone else, and she even piloted the Jedi’s ship while trying to apprehend her. She’s mature beyond her years, but her costume speaks to a central part of her character.
Jecki Lon
Jecki is the Padawan apprentice to Master Sol. Although she is young, she projects calm and conducts herself with maturity.
No matter how well Jecki performs, she’s seen as a child. This has already been shown consistently inThe Acolyte.Sol refused to believe her theory about Mae, only to immediately accept it when Osha presented it, Yord Fandar only referred to Jecki as a Padawan, and more. No matter what she does, Jecki is just a student in the world of masters. Everyone can immediately tell by looking at her green sash and Padawan braid, and her desire to be respected could be a major part of her character development.
2Jecki Lon’s Robes Also Point Out The Order’s Hierarchy
Jecki’s Sash Is A Overt Way To Show She Has Less Authority Than Other Jedi
Jecki’s outfit speaks volumes about her as a character, but it also has quite a bit to say about the Jedi Order itself. Bryan briefly touched on the Order’s hierarchy when speaking about Sol, but Jecki is where that hierarchy is most obvious. In the prequel era, the Order still used Padawan braids, but their robes were largely the same as their masters. In the High Republic, however, everyone’s rank is made plain as day, and color-coded to boot. Jecki’s robes show there’s much more emphasis placed on hierarchy inThe Acolyte, which has a few interesting implications.
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The High Republic has, in the past, been thought of as a type of Renaissance when the Jedi Order was at its highest. Part of the reason for that was because of how open-minded and accepting the Jedi were. This was an Order that allowed Elzar Mann to explore the Force as he saw fit, and that accepted Vernestra Rwoh’s experimentation with lightsabers.InThe Acolyte, however, their emphasis on hierarchy seems to show that the Jedi don’t place the same value on open-mindedness. Jecki’s sash shows that, as an organization, the Order thought each member had their place, and that place should be known to everyone.
1Yord Fandar’s Robes Highlight His Loyalty To The Jedi & Republic
They Also Showcase Yord’s Attention To His Appearance
Yord Fandar has, so far, been fairly easy to read. He’s proud of being a Jedi Knight, he has a deep love and respect for the Order and the Republic, he plays by the rules, and he cares about his appearance. Bryan’s vision for his costume reflects these ideals.She said she was inspired by the togas of senators from Ancient Rome for elements of Yord’s design, particularly his white cloak. Yord’s cloak definitely conveys that he takes pride in the way he presents himself, but the inspiration also creates some interesting parallels between him and Roman senators.
Yord Fandar
Yord, a Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple, is an overachiever and a rule follower. His need to be a by-the-book Jedi can cloud his mind.
Roman senators differed greatly in reality and in literature, and Yord may be combining both depictions. On one hand, he is very loyal to the institutions of power inStar Wars, but, if he does turn out like a senator, he may come to feel betrayed by those very same institutions. Mae, Qimir, and the Sith Lord could have an effect on Yord, and may even be able to convince him to do something very much unlike a proud Jedi Knight. There are countless ways Yord’s story could play out, and the parallel is there, but onlyThe Acolytecan finish his story.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
